Washington
DC Office
307 Dirksen Senate
Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: 202-224-6441
Fax: 202-224-1724
Wyoming Office
P.O. Box 22201
Casper, WY 82602
307-261-6413
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Contact: Cameron Hardy
202-224-6441 |
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Thomas Hails Passage of Livestock Reporting Extension
Senator Says Greater Market Transparency Will Aid Wyoming Producers |
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September 21st, 2006 - WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Craig Thomas is hailing the passage today of a reauthorization of the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act through 2010 as an important measure for Wyoming producers. The measure now goes to the President for his signature.
The Senate Agriculture Committee, of which Thomas is a member, discharged H.R. 3408 to the Senate floor Wednesday. The Senate approved it the same day.
“Wyoming sheep and cattle producers need mandatory price reporting to help them make important decisions about their business,” Thomas said. “This measure makes certain producers can operate in a fair and transparent market and achieve better prices.”
The law requires packers, processors, and importers to report information on price, quantity, and terms of sale for all domestic cattle, swine, and lambs to the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service.
The act requiring the mandatory reporting expired on September 30, 2005. Since then, livestock reporting has been voluntary. Most packers continued to report, but some stopped when it became voluntary, causing concern among producers about its affect on prices. This legislation again makes price reporting mandatory.
“The goal is to provide greater transparency in livestock markets and give livestock producers the information they need to make better marketing decisions – when to sell and what price to take,” Thomas said.
“This is especially important given the high level of concentration in livestock markets,” Thomas said. Estimates are that as few as four firms slaughter 85 percent of all fed cattle.
Many transactions are not public, and the price and quantity information from them would not otherwise be available to producers, making it more difficult for producers to know market prices.
The House of Representatives voted September 14, 2005 to reauthorize the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999. The Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act originally passed in 1999 to aid farmers suffering from low livestock prices.
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